Top Iraqi cleric survives attempt on life

NAJAF, Iraq, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, the Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, was reportedly the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempt Thursday.

Sources told CNN four assassins opened fire on Sistani with AK-47 assault rifles in Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad.

Sistani, 73, escaped injury, but a number of bodyguards may have been injured, CNN said.

The cleric, who has been outspoken in his opposition to the U.S.-led coalition and has urged immediate elections in Iraq, was taken by security forces to an undisclosed location, CNN said.

The fates of the gunmen was not immediately known.